Democrat Is Confident Of 3rd Term

October 11, 2002|By Sallie James Staff Writer

With an opponent who is all but invisible, incumbent Democratic state Rep. Stacy J. Ritter is confident she will win the race for the District 96 House seat, earning a third term and final chance to make a difference as part of the House of Representatives.

First elected in 1996, Ritter, 42, is a veteran legislator who has vowed to work with Republicans on upcoming issues, particularly annexation and redistricting. She is running a low-key campaign, knocking on doors and attending speaking engagements. She even plans to cover some neighborhoods on rollerblades, as she did back in 1996 when first running for office.

Her opponent, Coral Springs resident Roger Eckert, 63, is a member of the Libertarian Party. He is not campaigning, has raised no money and did not respond to numerous requests by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for face-to-face interviews. He did, however, submit an e-mail regarding his candidacy.

"Although not running an active campaign, I am participating to promote the Libertarian platform and increase its name recognition," Eckert said in the e-mail.

Florida Libertarians have put together a major push this year, dubbed Operation Full Slate, in an attempt to win legislative seats. According to the party, 73 Libertarians statewide are running for the House of Representatives because of a 1998 amendment that makes it easier for minority parties to get on the ballot.

District 96 includes large portions of Coral Springs and Tamarac, and parts of Sunrise and Lauderhill. Parkland and North Lauderdale are no longer part of District 96.

Ritter, who has described Eckert as a "ghost," has raised $59,500 in campaign funds, with contributions coming from attorneys, developers, insurance companies, labor unions and a variety of political action committees. That is $4,694 more than the entire Libertarian Party of Florida.

"I don't know anything about him," Ritter said of her opponent. "I understand Libertarians want to give voters a choice, but I don't think it gives them a choice. Choose me because you think I am doing a good job, or don't choose me because you think I'm not. I am happy to put myself up there.

FOR THE RECORD - CORRECTION PUBLISHED SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2002.An article and headline on Page 1B of Friday's edition incorrectly reported the number of terms state Rep. Stacy Ritter has served. Ritter, an incumbent Democrat, is seeking a fourth term.

"I'm confident. We just need to make sure people get to the polls," Ritter said.

If Ritter is re-elected, it would be the last term she could serve as a state Representative because of term limits.

If elected, one of Ritter's priorities will be to guide the junior members of the Legislature.

"If I have a legacy, I would like mine to be that I helped the younger members as much as possible," Ritter said. "In 1996 when I came in, the Democrats lost the majority. We had to find all the answers to the questions ourselves. There's a learning curve and it's a pretty steep one. I would like the freshmen to know what they are getting into."

Ritter's other priorities include: resolving the annexation issue, which could mean turning it over to the county; dealing with skyrocketing insurance costs; and trying for a second time to address the way the county governs its drainage canal system.

Eckert's priority is more basic: Reduce government.

"As a Libertarian candidate, it is my primary goal to reduce the size of government and the consequential taxes it produces to support itself," Eckert said in his e-mail. "It's not only a question of increasing or decreasing spending, it's a matter of giving the taxpayer the biggest bang for the buck possible."

Eckert, who owns a photo business, admits his experience in politics is non-existent. But he doesn't believe it matters.

"I am not a politician," Eckert said. "We need good old-fashioned common sense put back in government. The way our officials are elected needs to be modified. It seems that whenever someone gets elected, their top priority is to get re-elected."

For Ritter, the annexation issue is particularly upsetting. In the final week of last year's session, county legislators reached what they described as a last-minute compromise that would have given annexation duties to the Broward County Commission. The bill died.

Accordingly, Ritter doesn't believe the 2005 annexation deadline can be met, and firmly believes the issue should be a county responsibility.

"We will not get it done in Tallahassee," she said. "The Republicans are in charge and we're all Democrats here. We have been stalled because of that."

Eckert, who did not elaborate on issues, believes less is more.

"There is too much waste and bureaucracy in our government at all levels," he said.

Ritter is hoping to address the complicated drainage district issue again this year. She has repeatedly tried to bring the county's 23 government agencies that control the county's secondary canal system closer to the public.

In the North Springs District, for example, the district's three commissioners are elected only by landowners. Ritter had hoped to change that so all voters in the district could have a chance to elect their local water managers.

"There are problems with accountability. They don't take care of their constituency," Ritter said. She said she has been lobbying the governor's office about the issue.

Ritter, who is married to lobbyist Russ Klenet and is the daughter of Tamarac Commissioner Ed Portner, is used to being scrutinized. She insists her actions are not affected by her family's political ties.

"I think people need to realize my husband and my father and I are three different people with three different thought processes," Ritter said. "The three of us sometimes come up with six different opinions."

Sallie James can be reached at sjames@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2019.